The Prince's Husband
by VioletRose136
Summary: The sequel to my popular story, The Prince's Boyfriend: Merlin (once known as Merlin Emrys, now known as His Royal Highness the Duke of Oxford) is finally married to Arthur and finally exposed to the public life he has been preparing for ever since he met the prince. This is the story of the ups and downs and ins and outs of their first married year. SLASH WARNING. R&R.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:**

I know I said that there wouldn't be a sequel - but the demand was just too high for me to ignore. And so, I bent. This is going to be a short story (consisting of six or seven chapters at most) about Merlin and Arthur's first married year... so of course, I'm starting out with the wedding.

A couple of notes about this chapter: first, I know that in the epilogue of _The Prince's Boyfriend_ I wrote that Merlin was known as a Count in Scotland. This is incorrect, because the British aristocracy does not HAVE Counts. So in this story, I fixed that, making him an Earl instead. Second, is that I completely made up the ceremony where Merlin is granted with a royal title. I couldn't find anything about how the granting of a title process goes, so I winged it.

Other than that, I hope you all enjoy this. If you haven't read _The Prince's Boyfriend _- I suggest you go read it (it can be found on my profile) before you start in on this.

Take care,

- VioletRose136

* * *

CHAPTER ONE

_It's a beautiful night  
We're looking for something dumb to do  
Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you_

_Friday, July 19th 2008_

Merlin closed the bathroom door behind him as he walked into the bedroom, decked out in a rope. He stopped, holding the doorknob and looked at the clothing laid out on the bed. It was a three piece morning suit. Despite the wishes of Madeline Moore, his and Arthur's wedding planner, the colour of the jacket and trousers was black. Madeline had been adamant about reminding Merlin that he shouldn't wear black because it was associated with the colour of mourning. Merlin had responded by telling her that many grooms wore black to their wedding and he had no intention of doing anything differently just because it was such a public wedding.

In the end, Merlin had gotten his way. He had selected the three piece morning suit (appropriate because their wedding was, well, in the morning) and had it embroidered exquisitely (again, in black) by a team of sewers. The end result had been incredibly flattering and Merlin had been pleased that his keen eye had decided on something that was usual, but also unusual at the same time. Madeline Moore, to an extent, was pleased about the outcome of the suit as well. She had urged Merlin to do something unusual with the suit, to make up for the fact that there would be no white dress to replicate and sell endlessly. Merlin had managed this by selecting a maroon vest (that had also been embroidered in black) to wear under the suit. Madeline had been thrilled with Merlin's initiative, saying that he had 'definitely opened up a new line in wedding wardrobes'.

Arthur and Merlin had announced their engagement publically in February that year. And after nearly six long months of planning, the wedding day was finally here. There had been much controversy over an heir to the throne marrying a man: some thought it was fantastic and delightfully modern, others were upset because it meant no royal babies from Arthur and some were upset because Merlin was a man and in their eyes, homosexuality was entirely wrong. The Church of England however had been surprisingly supportive, allowing for gay marriage. The Prime Minster had only legalised it the year before.

Merlin was incredibly nervous. From this day forth, Merlin would be known as His Royal Highness and be a real member of the royal family, a member of the royal family on the government payroll and with a real royal title. That was another thing that had changed since Arthur and Merlin had announced their engagement. Usually, a male marrying into the royal family would not get a royal title through the marriage. They would keep whatever title they had coming into it, regardless of whether that title was "Prince" or "Mr". The British public had been horrified at the idea of Merlin, who would someday be married to a king, would not be granted a royal title and merely remain known as, "Mister Merlin Emrys". So, Parliament had passed a law removing that regulation. From a month before their wedding, any man marrying into the royal family would be granted the same rights to a royal title as a woman marrying into the royal family would be granted.

As a result, Merlin was going to be known as HRH the Duke of Oxford. Whether he was more excited or more terrified about the idea of becoming a royal, Merlin could not say. He let the door go and walked across the room, intending to pour himself a cup of tea. The wedding would start at ten thirty, it was not yet seven. He turned on the television and sat back, not to his surprise, coverage of the day's events had already begun.

"In roughly three and a half hours we will be witnessing the most prominent royal wedding ever to take place. It is not the wedding of the century; it is the wedding of the millennium." The reporter was saying. "Thanks to tradition, Prince Arthur and his fiancé, Merlin Emrys are spending the night before their wedding apart. It is reported that the Prince is spending his last night as a single man in Buckingham Palace, while his fiancé is spending the night at their home in Saint John's Wood with his mother, uncle and stepfather, Adam Williamson, who is a celebrated historian…"

There was a knock at the door. Merlin muted the TV and shouted over his shoulder. "Come in!"

Hunith, holding two cups of hot chocolate came in, using her shoulder to open and close the door. She padded across the room wearing pyjama pants and a T-shirt that was baggy enough to conceal Hunith's condition. It had only been a week before that she had told Merlin that she was pregnant with her first child with her husband, Adam. The child was due in February that following year. Merlin was beyond happy for his mother, and hoped that the child's royal connections would not force them to spend their lives in the limelight.

"Hi, sweetie." Hunith said, handing him the cup. Merlin took it gratefully. "Can I sit down?" Merlin nodded and she sat. "Are you nervous about today?"

"What if I'm making a mistake?" Merlin blurted out. "I was brought up in West Virginia! Is that really a good backstory for living in a palace and for being a CONSORT? Am I making a completely horrible and awful mistake that I'll regret for the rest of my life?!"

Hunith put a comforting hand on Merlin's shoulder. "You have yet to be a consort, love." She took a sip of hot chocolate and continued. "You're going to be a duke."

"A duke who is married to the man who will become King of England…"

"Merlin, it won't be for a long time yet, you will be all settled into royal life when Arthur becomes King."

"I don't think it will be that long." Merlin said, taking a sip of hot chocolate. "Uther's doing well, but the cancer will get him sooner or later. Three years, tops."

Hunith frowned; she still didn't like Uther after what he had done to Merlin years before. "A lot can happen in three years, my love. You will be a wonderful consort, of that I am sure. And what will change between now and when Arthur becomes King? Perhaps there will be a little more ceremony: but Uther does not do much more publically than Arthur already does."

Merlin rubbed his eyes and glanced at the TV, which was now outlining the route that he would later take to Westminster Abbey. "I guess… but I mean, I'm the first gay consort like, in all of _history_. My name is going to be in countless books."

"I can't think of anyone finer to do the job." Hunith wrapped her arm him. "You're young, Merlin—" He was twenty four. "—But I can't think of anyone finer to do the job and have the duties that you're going to take on. You will not only be a first, you will the greatest consort in the entire world."

Merlin sighed. "I have to give up so much, though." He thought and quickly added, "I don't resent Arthur for it—I know that if I want him, all of this is part of the package… but sometimes I wonder why we can't just run away. Why Morgana can't just become Queen? Arthur and I aren't even going to have _children_. I'm not going to be producing any heirs. So why does Arthur have to be King? Morgana would make a fabulous Queen."

"Yes, but Arthur wants to be King, doesn't he?"

Merlin sighed. "I think so. He's talked about abdicating and giving the throne to Morgana or another cousin if she doesn't want it. I don't think he'll do it, though."

Hunith smiled. "Well, we'll see. Even if he doesn't, I know you two will be spectacular."

Merlin rolled his eyes and smiled. "What are you doing up so early? Has morning sickness set in already?"

Hunith shook her head. "God no; I wouldn't be sitting here right now if it had. I guess I'm just nervous. My only son is getting married today. I'm going to have to walk two steps behind him for the rest of my life and bow to him and call him _Your Royal Highness_."

Merlin laughed nervously. "You don't have to do any of that."

"I don't?" Hunith winked.

"No, mom." He put an arm around her and hugged her. "You never will. I'll just be 'Merlin' to you."

Hunith suddenly found it hard to talk, a lump had arisen in her throat; maybe morning sickness was kicking in after all. "Always?" She murmured.

"Always."

oOo

Arthur sat in the breakfast room, eating breakfast with his father, His Majesty King Uther and his sister, Her Royal Highness Morgana the Princess Royal. Sunlight streamed through the glass walls, bathing them all in warmth. While Morgana and Uther were busily eating their food in semi-comfortable silence, Arthur only pushed his around on his plate. His mind was too full with thoughts of the coming day.

Morgana looked up at her brother, and nudged his arm. He dragged his eyes away from his coffee cup to look at her.

"Arthur, eat something." She commanded. "You're beginning to make me feel self-conscious."

Arthur looked down at his full English breakfast and poked at a sausage. "You're not getting married today in front of a billion people. You don't have any right to feel self-conscious."

Morgana rolled her eyes and took a long gulp of coffee. "I'm a groomsmaid. People will be watching me, too."

Arthur sighed. "Still, it's going to be me and Merlin. The focus will be entirely on us. What if I faint or throw up? What if HE does something wrong? The press will attack him! That's the worst possible way to enter royal life!"

"Arthur," Uther said sternly. "If you have chosen to marry someone who is that incapable of participating in a public event, I will ask you to break off the engagement right now."

Arthur stopped himself from making a rude retort. For all his flaws, Uther had been fairly tolerant of Arthur marrying another man (this of course, was ignoring the incident involving Merlin which had caused Uther to be imprisoned several years before which was perhaps fuelling Uther's decision to remain tolerant) since their engagement had been announced. Arthur knew that this tolerant façade might not last forever and he was grateful for it while it lasted. _Of course_, the question bloomed in Arthur's mind, _would my father be so particular about the person I marry being able to tackle the role if they were female? _It was not likely, but Arthur pushed that to the back of his mind and smiled at Uther.

"Father, Merlin will be entirely capable of his royal duties. I intend to be by his side every moment of his first year as a royal."

"Goodness, Arthur." Morgana said, "You must let him breathe. He will never be able to branch out on his own if he's always at your shoulder. The public won't like it if you're constantly holding a leash on him."

"That sounds ridiculously kinky." Arthur joked, earning a stern look from Uther. The fact that Arthur did more than simply shake Merlin's hand was hard for Uther to comprehend without feeling very ill, but the fact that Uther didn't believe that Arthur could possibly be in love with another man made Arthur feel ill, so it was a fairly equal spectrum.

Morgana stole a look at the clock. "Arthur, it's nearly eight."

"So?"

"You need to start getting ready!"

"I don't have to leave until ten-twenty-four."

"That doesn't matter. You are not going to your wedding un-showered." Morgana stood up and walked around to Arthur's chair and pulled it out, grudgingly, she grabbed Arthur and pulled him up, too.

Arthur willingly went, knowing that fighting against Morgana would likely result in him being late and thus, missing his wedding. They left the breakfast room and headed up to Arthur's apartments. Had his father not been so very ill, Arthur would have probably decided to rid himself of his lodgings at Buckingham Palace. Clarence House would be his and Merlin's official residence following their marriage—but they had no intention of leaving their beloved home in St. John's Wood—in fact, Arthur had been considering moving motions forward to have St. John's Wood labelled as an official royal residence. Today, however, he felt lucky that the lodgings still existed.

He stopped outside the door and turned and fiercely hugged Morgana. She, somewhat surprised at the embrace, paused for only a moment before hugging him back. When he separated from his sister, he looked down at her with the adoring look that could only be shared between siblings.

"I can't wait." He said truthfully.

"You don't have to wait for long." She touched his face affectionately. "Now go get ready. The car will be here soon."

Arthur hurried into his rooms, only to be captured in a fierce bear hug by Gwaine Anderson, his dear friend. He laughed and hugged the other man back. "Aren't you supposed to be with Merlin?"

"Nah, Percival and Leon have got that." He replied, slapping Arthur on the back. "I'm here to help you, man."

Arthur laughed. "Well, thank you."

"No, thank you." Gwaine said. "A groomsman at the wedding of the millennia, every girl in Britain will want me after this."

Gwaine was notorious for womanizing, often appearing in the press for his short relationships with members of the British aristocracy. Merlin had once asked Arthur why they kept on inviting Gwaine to official functions and Arthur had found that he had had no real answer to Merlin's question. Gwaine was their friend and so he was invited, that was that. Now, Arthur rolled his eyes and walked into his bedroom, where his military stately wear had been laid out. Arthur couldn't help but feel somewhat cheap, wearing a full dress naval commander uniform when he had no intention of joining the forces. But, he knew it was tradition to dress in such garments for weddings and so he did not fight it.

He turned to Gwaine. "Get out." He said simply. "I can dress myself." His voice was warm, but serious. Gwaine smiled.

"I'm going to raid your liquor cabinet, then." He told the prince, disappearing before Arthur had the chance to answer.

After showering, Arthur dressed quickly, he had worn this uniform before and it was easy to put on. It was a little past eight thirty when Arthur found that he was fully ready to go and marry the love of his life. Only, he knew that he would not be leaving for the abbey for nearly two hours. How on earth would he pass the time? How on earth could he even think of passing the time? Why hadn't he taken Madeline's advice that the wedding should start at nine? Why had he subjected himself to such torturous waiting?

How was Merlin doing? Arthur wondered. Was he having second thoughts? Only yesterday, Arthur had read a column in the New York Times which had said: "My suggestion for Merlin Emrys? _Run_. His family is nuts." This, Arthur knew wasn't entirely true and he knew Merlin knew it, too. But he couldn't help but worry: what if what Uther had done to Merlin years ago came back to terrify Merlin into running for it? What if the reality of becoming a royal terrified Merlin into running? Or what if Merlin decided that he simply didn't _want_ to marry him? Before he could terrify himself further, Arthur picked up his phone. His phone was new – it was the new iPhone 3G which had only been released eight days before. He unlocked it and scrolled down to Merlin's number, pressing "call", panic brewing in his veins.

Merlin answered on the first ring. "Hello?"

"Hi." Arthur said, turning around in the bedroom, pushing the curtain away from the window to look outside at the crowds which were already congregating around the fountain. His stomach twisted. "How are you?"

"Nervous," Came his fiancé's reply. "I'm absolutely shitting myself, if I'm being honest."

"Because you think you might be making a mistake?" _No, no, no_.

"Don't be daft." Merlin chuckled. "No, I know I'm not making a mistake. I'm nervous because I'm going to be seen live by three billion people. I'm nervous because I'm going to be really royal: people are going to have to walk three steps behind me and bow to me for the rest of my life. I'm a country boy from West Virginia. I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. I just know that I'm in love with the Prince of Wales and the simple idea that I wouldn't do this is insane."

Arthur relaxed. "Good. I love you, Merlin."

"I love you, too." Merlin sighed. "We should've taken Madeline's advice about starting earlier, shouldn't we?" He laughed.

"YES." Arthur laughed, infected by Merlin's laughter. "It'd be kinder on those people who have been camping out all night, too."

"Oh no, don't tell me that!" Merlin groaned. "How many are there?"

"Oh, a good thousand are outside Buckingham Palace, from what I can see."

"I'd better not fall when I get out of the car, then!" Merlin's voice coloured with nervousness.

"You'll be perfect, I'm sure."

"I hope so." Merlin took a deep breath. "Well, I suppose I'd better go get showered and dressed." He sighed. "Am I going to see you later, Arthur Pendragon?"

Arthur chuckled. "I don't know. I might do a runner on you."

"I'll kill you if you do." Merlin replied, quietly.

Arthur straight out laughed. "God, I love you, Merlin."

oOo

Merlin was surprised by the amount of people lining the streets. At ten twenty six on the dot, the classic Bentley limousine had pulled up outside his home. His mother and stepfather had already left the house ten minutes before, leaving Percival, Leon and Merlin alone. They waited in the entrance hall, Merlin fully decked out in his three piece suit.

"Sir, we are ready for you." Robert, their butler had said, opening the front door for the future royal. Merlin nodded his thanks and walked out to the car, where the door was opened for him and he slid in. And then, they had been on their way.

And so here Merlin was, moments from marrying the only man he had really loved, waving to the crowds of thousands who had showed up just to get a glimpse of him and Arthur. It was a beautiful, sunny, July day in London. It was warm, but not hot: a feature of the weather which Britain always seemed to strike perfectly. The sun glinted off the new and old buildings, turning the city which Merlin loved into a masterpiece of beauty.

Arthur would already be at the abbey when Merlin arrived, the procession would be moments from beginning. Neither Arthur nor Merlin would walk down the aisle to the other man, for neither Merlin nor Arthur was a bride. They had decided to walk down the aisle together as equals. Arthur, coming from Buckingham Palace would arrive at roughly the same time as Merlin. Straying from tradition, it was after the wedding when the dukedom would be given. Arthur and Merlin could not simply both be the Duke of Oxford and so, Uther had grudgingly agreed, to name Merlin a duke in the privacy of Buckingham Palace, immediately following the wedding.

The abbey came into sight and a moment later the car slowed.

For the rest of his life, Merlin would remember the roar of the crowd that escalated as he got out of the car. He knew he had been on camera since he had left St. John's Wood. He got out of the car, turned and waved, smiling broadly and hoping that he didn't look like an idiot. Percival touched his arm – an unspoken signal to turn towards the abbey. Merlin did so, walking as he had been taught, hands at his side, eyes straight forward.

The abbey doors were wide open. He walked through them, not at all surprised to see Arthur still talking to the religious leaders of the abbey. Merlin (as had been rehearsed) immediately went to Arthur's side, greeting the men whom Arthur had just greeted. Arthur looked over and smiled at him quickly, before returning to the conversation he had been having. Merlin was happy that his voice did not waver and that his face did not feel at all hot, both of which were things he had feared happening.

Once greetings had been exchanged, Merlin and Arthur walked to the aisle, remaining a foot apart as they had been instructed. Bells rang, indicating ten thirty. Music started – they had selected Pachelbel's Canon for their procession – and their groomsmen and page boys started to ascend down the aisle. After a moment, Merlin and Arthur began to walk, side by side down the aisle.

They arrived at the altar and knelt down on the silky kneeling stools and were blessed by the Dean of Westminster. And then, the Archbishop of Canterbury came forward, and asked that Arthur and Merlin rise and stand before him.

And so they were married.

oOo

Arthur's favourite part of their wedding day had to be the ride back to Buckingham Palace, following their wedding ceremony. For this, they had decided to ride in a carriage, simply to humour the mounds of people who had been waiting all day just to see them. He got into the carriage and sat beside Merlin, his thigh pressing against that of his husband's. As the carriage started to move, Arthur reached down and clasped Merlin's hand in his.

The ride was quick and short. Merlin was perfect, Arthur decided. Waving and smiling at everyone, even asking the driver to ride twice around the fountain before heading through the gates of Buckingham Palace. The guards saluted Arthur as they rode past. When the couple next rode through these gates, Arthur knew that they would be saluting him and Merlin who then, would be a duke.

Arthur slid out of the carriage, regretting that he could not yet embrace Merlin, for the cameras would still be rolling. They would go and take official wedding portraits and then appear on the balcony, afterwards, they would have an official luncheon. Afterwards, they would return to St. John's Wood until that night, when they would have a smaller, more informal reception. The luncheon included all the crowned heads of the world. The night-time reception would include a few choice royals as well as their friends and family. The following morning, they would fly out to their honeymoon location, a place that even Merlin didn't know yet.

Once they were in the palace and definitely out of the view of photographers, Arthur took Merlin's hand, leading him down a corridor and into a small study which was never used, but shown to tourists as they made their way through the palace. Once Arthur shut the door behind him, he walked swiftly over to Merlin, taking his face tenderly in his hands and kissing him _hard_. After he had separated from his husband, Arthur pressed a kiss to Merlin's temple and squeezed his hands.

"We did it, Merlin. We made it. You were so perfect."

Merlin blushed for the first time that day, the pinkness spreading even to his ears. "Thank you, Arthur." He paused and gulped. "You weren't too bad, either."

Arthur rubbed his temples. "I wish we could just have the reception tonight."

"Why's that?"

"Because," Arthur said, moving closer to Merlin and taking his hands. "I want to do things to you, things that will leave you moaning and asking, begging for more." Merlin's stomach tightened pleasurably as he looked into the depths of Arthur's eyes. "I want to make you feel more spent and more loved than I've ever made you feel."

"Uh, well." Merlin said abruptly, pulling away from Arthur. "There will be plenty of time for that, later."

Arthur laughed and wrapped his arm around Merlin, "That there will be, Merlin, and that there will be."

A few minutes later, the couple left the room. They walked back down the corridor and back into the wider room, where the photographer was still checking light stats and the members of the wedding party were mulling around, eating the appetizers that had been laid out for them. Morgana smiled widely when she saw Merlin and ran over to them.

"Congratulations," She said warmly, hugging her brother-in-law. "You did so wonderfully!"

Merlin was about to reply, when a herald brought the room to attention. _How old fashioned_, Merlin thought, thinking that it was definitely ironic to have old fashioned things at one of the most modern weddings to ever take place.

"Ahem. His Majesty King Uther asks for an audience in the throne room with Mister Merlin Emrys and his husband, Prince Arthur of Wales."

A few select members of the wedding party followed Arthur, Merlin and the herald into the throne room, where Uther sat waiting. These people were: Merlin's mother and stepfather, Princess Morgana and the groomsmen. There were a few officials already in the room, people who would later sign to see that they'd seen titles bestowed upon Merlin. They both bowed low, sensing the seriousness of the occasion. The king stood and walked down the few steps, allowing both men to kiss his hand. After a moment, Uther spoke.

"You are married to my son." He was addressing Merlin. "And under the British law, you are now entitled to receive a royal title upon your union. The titles you are to receive today are titles that you shall keep for the entirety of your life, they are titles that are bestowed onto men who have lived up to them and realized the honour behind them. I hope, that you will do each and every one of these titles honour."

"I promise to receive them with gratefulness and to treat them honourably."

"Very well," Uther said, "As well as the right to be addressed as Your Royal Highness, today you will receive the dukedom of Oxford, the earldom of Strathearn and the barony of Carrickfergus. Do you accept this?"

"I accept these titles gratefully."

"Bring forth the sword."

Arthur, who had been sighted for this duty, brought forth the old guided sword which they had decided to use for this ceremony. Uther took it from his son and Merlin came forward, kneeling in front of the king on the steps in front of the ornate chair. Merlin felt uneasy, kneeling so close to a man who very clearly did not approve of anything about him. Touching the sword from one shoulder to the next, Uther spoke again.

"I, King Uther of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Commonwealth Realms, on the occasion of your marriage to my son, Prince Arthur of Wales, hereby bestow upon you from this day forth, the dukedom of Oxford, the earldom of Strathearn and the barony of Carrickfergus. From this moment forward, you are to be known as His Royal Highness, Merlin, Duke of Oxford, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus." Uther took the sword away. "God bless you and now rise."

Merlin rose, meeting Uther's stormy eyes for a second, before turning to the rest of the room. The occupants of the room, save Arthur, Morgana and King Uther, had fallen to their knees the moment Merlin had risen. Merlin waited only a few seconds before saying, "Rise." He had been told that this was at his discretion, some newly titled persons liked making those present kneel for a long time.

They returned to the greater room, where they had chosen to take their official wedding portraits, contrary to the usual tradition, which dictated that these portraits be taken in the throne room. After an hour of, "smile a little more", "turn your head left", the photographer deemed that the perfect shots had been taken. Merlin walked around, looking over the photographer's shoulder, agreeing that the shots were wonderful. They signed, allowing them to be released to the public and then were ushered upstairs.

"This is the best part," Arthur whispered to Merlin, as they lined up to go out onto the balcony to watch the planes fly by overhead. "The first kiss."

"Kiss in public?" Merlin was shocked. Public Displays of Affection was something that Arthur very rarely engaged in.

"It's tradition." Morgana explained, "The royal couple will share their first big kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. And you two are of course, the royal couple."

"Your Royal Highness, it's time for you to go on." One of Madeline's assistants said, coming forward with a clip board.

It took Merlin a moment to realize that he was the one being spoken to. "Oh, right." He made a beeline for the doors, which were opened by the footmen before he even drew very near. The sight that greeted him was amazing. A cheer went up as he was outlined in the doorway. He took a deep breath and stepped onto the balcony, putting what would soon become his public smile on his face.

"Wow." Merlin said when he felt Arthur on his shoulder. Arthur rubbed circles on Merlin's back, amused at Merlin's amazement. What was it like, he wondered, to suddenly be exposed to all of this? What was it like to suddenly become a member of one of the oldest and most prominent royal families in the world?

"I didn't think there would be this many." He commented, chucking.

"Well I'm very popular." Merlin replied, winking at Arthur. He walked further out onto the balcony, so that the photographers, cameramen and the entirety of the crowd could get a better shot of him. He turned back to Arthur. "You might have guessed."

"It's obviously me they're here to see." Morgana cut in, coming to a halt at Merlin's shoulder.

"You're all wrong," said King Uther, smiling broadly at his son, "I'm the popular one."

Merlin felt a wave of gratefulness towards Uther. Somehow, he had managed to lock away all the negative feelings which he had towards Merlin and his marriage to the Prince of Wales. Not once had Merlin heard a snide remark, or a sigh, although he had prepared himself well enough so that he wouldn't be brought down by it.

The crowd was chanting something, as Merlin listened, he found that he could make out the word, "kiss" being repeated over and over.

Morgana laughed. "You two ought to give them what they want, before they tear the guards apart and come rushing up here."

Merlin felt a wave of nervousness. Uther had already dealt with his son marrying a man today. Could he deal with his son kissing one? "Should we?" He said, directing the question at his husband.

Arthur shrugged. "It's tradition."

He leaned forward, capturing Merlin in a kiss. The cheer grew louder if that were even possible. A moment later, they heard the roar of an aircraft and broke apart so that they might see the aircrafts fly by – in diamond formation. Merlin clasped Arthur's hand, unable to remember a time when he had felt so full, so happy and so complete.

Afterwards, they drew back inside the palace, to the fancy luncheon which was being hosted by the King. Stuffed full of food and tired, Arthur and Merlin soon left Buckingham Palace, heading for Clarence House which would from that day until Arthur's succession be their official London residence. They left in a convertible which Merlin forgot the make and name of the moment he was told it. It was incredibly cheesy, having cans tied to the back and having a sloppy, "JUST MARRIED" spray painted across the back (probably by Gwaine) but Merlin loved it. Everything about the day had been perfect.

oOo

It was not until the next morning that Merlin really felt that he could hear himself think. The afternoon at Clarence House had resulted in hard, hot sex followed by a dinner and evening reception hosted by Morgana at Buckingham Palace. The festivities had not ended until well past two in the morning and so Arthur and Merlin had opted to stay in Arthur's – their – apartments at Buckingham Palace. Everything was a blur – a happy, euphoric, blur.

And now, at eleven in the morning, His Royal Highness the Duke of Oxford and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales strode hand in hand across the lawn of Buckingham Palace. Merlin wore dark blue jeans with a brown leather belt and a tucked in black Oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The Prince of Wales was slightly more formally dressed than his husband – choosing to wear a sports jacket over his light blue shirt and tan slacks. Either way, he supported the smile that Merlin did as they approached the helicopter which would take them out to Gatwick Airport where the private jet would take them to their honeymoon destination.

"Now will you please tell me where we're going?" Merlin asked, once they were settled.

Arthur leaned forward, indicating that Merlin should, too. Merlin did lean forward. Arthur took a deep breath, saying, "We're going to… you'll find out when you get there."

"You bloody prat." Merlin muttered, leaning back into seat.

"A bloody prat who you love." Arthur added, taking a sip of water.

"Unfortunately…" Merlin agreed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Hey guys!**

I'm slowly but surely writing these chapters - I expect that this story will have about`six or seven more chapters.

Thanks to all who reviewed. Enjoy this! :)

- VioletRose136

* * *

Chapter Two

After the helicopter ride, Arthur and Merlin clambered onto the Pendragon's private plane.

The plane had just been replaced and Merlin was amazed by the changes. Only slightly smaller than a regular commercial plane and with two floors, the plane featured three "rooms" on its lower floor (four, if you counted the cockpit). The first was the smallest one and the one that looked most like a plane. It was where Merlin and Arthur sat during take-off. It had four large plush ivory leather seats with seatbelts and a built in table between them. Down the very narrow hallway was a door that led into the staffroom, where the flight attendants and co-pilot and pilot went during their breaks. Further down from that there was a tiny kitchen. Up the narrow stairs, Merlin knew that there would be a space that looked something like a living room, with a brown suede built-in couch and a built in table. There was a flat screen TV and an internet router as well. Down the narrow hall on the upper level was a very small, yet elegant bathroom and further down from that was a bedroom. Merlin did not know where they were going, so he didn't know whether or not the bedroom would be used.

Arthur was absolutely beaming. His smile was infectious and Merlin smiled as he looked around in disbelief – all of this was HIS. Just as Merlin was aweing at his sudden wealth and position, Clare, their head flight attendant, came up and offered the couple a curtsy.

"Your Royal Highnesses— welcome aboard."

Merlin smiled, shaking Clare's hand. "Nice to see you again, Clare. How's your aunt?"

On a previous journey to Kenya, they had discovered that Clare's aunt lived in Illinois. As an American (well, former American – he'd had to give up his American citizenship in order to accept the British titles of nobility he had gained upon marriage) he felt the need to ask after anyone living in his country of origin.

She smiled. "You remembered, Your Royal Highness." Merlin had told her many times to just call him by his Christian name, but she had continued on calling him, 'Mr. Emrys', 'Sir' and now, 'Your Royal Highness'. "She's doing well, as far as I know, sir. You had a beautiful wedding yesterday, sir."

They had invited all their staff to the wedding ceremony and so Clare had witnessed it first-hand. Arthur smiled and put his arm around his husband. "Thank you, Clare."

She curtsied. "We're still performing the final aircraft body checks and security checks before take-off, would you like to reside upstairs and come down for take-off, or would you prefer stay down here?"

Arthur looked around. "We'll stay down here, thank you Clare."

"Of course sir: can I fetch you and the Duke of Oxford anything to make you more comfortable?"

"Yes, can you get us the Bolly?"

"The Bollinger La Grande Année Brut Rose 2004, sir?"

"Yes."

"Coming right away, sir."

She walked away. Merlin looked at his husband. "I can't believe I'm about to drink two hundred pound champagne."

"You just got married, Merlin." Arthur said, sitting down. Merlin sat across from him. "Live a little."

"And you're still not telling me where we're going?"

"It's a nine-hour flight: you'll see."

"Nine hours? Where on earth are you taking me?"

"Good pun, Merlin."

Merlin winced. "I didn't mean it like that."

"We're going to stay somewhere that was a gift from my darling sister."

"And that's where?"

Clare returned then, with two crystal champagne flutes and a bottle of champagne. She poured it with a flourish into their glasses – it was a nice, bubbly salmon pink – and set down the champagne.

"Will there be anything else, Your Royal Highness?"

Arthur shook his head and sent her away with a wave of his hand. She retreated back to the staffroom down the hall, no doubt. Arthur looked at Merlin and raised his glass. "To us," He said, "And may we always be as happy as we are right now. I love you, Merlin."

Merlin smiled and toasted with Arthur. "I can't actually believe this is real." Merlin commented, leaning back in his seat.

"Well, believe it my love." Arthur said, "You are now a member of one of the oldest and most respected royal dynasty's in the world."

"A member by marriage," Merlin amended, trying to make some sort of connection with the farm boy from West Virginia he had been six years earlier.

"You are now and forever a member, Merlin." Arthur said, "If I die before you, you will still be known as an HRH and should the entire world lose its mind and we divorce – you will still have your titles."

"Isn't it bad luck to talk about divorce the day after the wedding?"

Arthur shook his head. "On the contrary, I think it has a reverse effect of sealing the union against any such catastrophe."

Merlin smiled and looked out the window. A few people were hurrying around, carts being moved around. They had allowed that reporters could take photos of the plane after they were on it. He saw them, with their long-lensed cameras, straining to catch a glimpse of him and Arthur in the plane.

"It is rather annoying that reporters are so obsessed with us."

"Why?" Arthur asked. "Why wouldn't they be obsessed with us? I'm probably going to be king within half a decade – and we're the first gay royal couple _ever_."

Merlin sighed. Since their engagement had been announced, it was almost impossible for them to find a moment of peace when they were in public. Merlin had been constantly harassed and had opted to spend most of the days in the month leading up to their wedding hiding in their home at St. John's Wood.

Sometimes, the press had been vicious about their wedding. Merlin had been at their neighbourhood Tesco Express one afternoon when he had spied an issue of The Daily Mail – which was a very conservative and uptight British newspaper – with the headline, "Prince Arthur: Should We Force Him to Abdicate?" he had picked it up to read the story and blah –it was the usual things the press attacked about their union: _unable to produce heirs with another man_, _going against the Church of England by the catastrophe of his marriage_ and so forth. But what made this scene particularly nasty was that a photographer had snapped a photo of Merlin reading the news story and a rumour that Merlin was actually straight and marrying Arthur for his titles and money had emerged shortly thereafter. No one had believed it of course, but it was still quite a shock right before the wedding.

_Thank God the wedding is over_, Merlin thought, _things will settle down now_. He looked at Arthur and shrugged. "I'll get used to it," He said to ease what he knew what Arthur's alarm. "I'm just in shock at the moment. I'm married to the one man I will ever love... it takes some getting used to."

oOo

Across the pond, another man Merlin had loved was waking up. Mordred was waking up in his New York City apartment. He got up and walked out of his bedroom, the darkness and silence in the flat making Mordred think that his housemate, Xander had either (a) not come home yet or (b) was still asleep following what was surely a very obnoxious trip out to the clubs on a Friday night.

He wandered into the kitchen and put the kettle on. Wandering over to the door, he opened it and found that day's copy of The New York Post. And right there on the cover was his last serious boyfriend – Merlin Emrys… or the _Duke of Oxford_ it appeared, according to the headline.

_Of course,_ the royal wedding yesterday: Mordred had done everything he could to avoid thinking of it. He had been mostly successful. Xander had spent the day out because he knew that plenty of girls would be out on the streets celebrating and Xander was never to miss a gathering of drunk, excited girls. So with his housemate gone from ten in the morning, Mordred had stayed home and kept the T.V. off. He'd spent the day on his living room floor approving copyedits for his next book.

Mordred removed the kettle from the stovetop as soon as it went off. He dumped two lumps of instant coffee into it and began stirring. Following that, he picked up the newspaper and decided now was as good a time as any to face it. He read the thing cover to cover, all the analyses of who had been and what they'd worn. By the end of it, Mordred was feeling rather… empty. He had been invited – but he'd known it was Merlin's guilt talking more than anything else – and had declined the invitation. Merlin had left him for Arthur. The public didn't know that – Clarence House was ever so careful about protecting the reputation of their beloved prince – but Mordred had.

He sighed. He had had two relationships since Merlin and neither had felt as deep or as loving. There was no one like Merlin, he knew. Loving a man like him was bound to leave its mark. The problem was, it had been two years and Mordred couldn't believe that the wound was still there. Surely it couldn't be true love, Mordred told himself daily. Merlin was married now and not to him. If they were meant to be together, Merlin wouldn't have married Arthur. That simply wouldn't exist. He would be here with Mordred, perhaps reading the paper next to him and laughing at the flashy British royals.

A floorboard creaked and Mordred's head snapped up to the sight of Xander in the doorway. He was wearing a grubby grey t-shirt and navy boxers. He lifted a hand in greeting. "Morning, Mordred." He said dully.

Mordred smiled at his housemate's obvious hangover. "How was yesterday?"

"Absolutely crazy: I got off with some drunken girl in a bar. She was so eager to kiss me it felt like she was attacking me, so I sort of stood up her offer to go back to her place with her."

"That's horrible." Mordred laughed. Xander poured himself a glass of juice and sat down at the table across from Mordred. He grabbed the paper Mordred had abandoned.

"The royal wedding itself," He sighed with what Mordred guessed was awe. "Didn't you used to date Merlin Emrys?" He asked suddenly, catching Mordred off guard. Mordred never really talked about his relationship with Merlin. He preferred to keep thoughts of his ex-boyfriend entirely to himself. Also, it had been two years since the break-up: letting anyone know how much he still missed Merlin would likely result in getting himself committed for obsession problems.

Still, there was no point in denying it so he nodded. "Yeah, how did you know?"

Xander shrugged. "I saw it in a story just after they got engaged. About how they split up and Merlin moved to L.A. – with you, right?"

Mordred nodded and cast his eyes downwards. "Yeah, that was us."

"Why'd you break up?"

"'Cause that fucking prince showed up," Mordred let out a harsh laugh. "Why would anyone pick ME over a prince?"

He expected Xander to drop the subject, but he didn't. Flipping the page, Xander looked at a photo of Arthur and Merlin coming out of Westminster Abbey. "A prince or not, Merlin doesn't seem like a bad guy."

Mordred pursed his lips. "He's a duke." He said at last, ignoring Xander's last comment.

Xander looked up and met Mordred's eyes. "I don't know the guy, Mordred. All I can say is from the snippets of interviews and news stories I've seen… he doesn't seem like someone shallow enough to run off because he's a gold-digger. Maybe he really loves Arthur."

Mordred shrugged, realizing that he'd said too much. "It doesn't matter, really." He said, "He'd loved Arthur before and he loved him still. My existence was nothing to him. A sacrifice, a loss that had to be made so that he could be with the man he really loved." His voice cracked and he fell silent.

"I'm sorry, Mordred." Xander said. "I don't know what happened, but I get the sense that it was sudden for you."

Mordred shrugged and pushed thoughts of his ex-boyfriend out of his mind. "He's married now; it's not like it matters."

"So? Marriages can be annulled."

Mordred looked up at Xander. "You can't be serious."

He shrugged. "It's clear you miss him. Maybe he feels the same way. Maybe he misses you, but his relationship with Arthur was so public that he felt he couldn't leave."

"Or he's happy being a duke."

Xander shrugged and stood up, heading towards the door. "But are you really okay with never knowing, Mordred?" He threw over his shoulder as he went down the hall.

No, he wasn't comfortable with never knowing – of course he wasn't. But Xander was crazy; Merlin and Arthur were very obviously in love. That's what every paper said. It was crazy to think he'd ever get Merlin back. Or maybe… maybe Xander was onto something. Merlin's words from long ago echoed in Mordred's mind.

"_It's suffocating, being in the public eye. You can't fucking go to Tesco and buy milk without it being all over the tabloids. And if it were a really slow day for the tabloids, chances are that that buying that milk would kick off a rumour that I have a milk fetish."_

Maybe… maybe Merlin was trapped. Maybe he missed Mordred.

Before he could talk himself out of it, Mordred headed to his computer and typed three words into the search engine: 'flights to London'.

oOo

Once they were well and truly airborne, Merlin and Arthur headed upstairs. They entered what appeared to be a long living room. Arthur sauntered over to the bar in the 'sitting cabin' as he referred to it and immediately poured them two whiskeys. He plopped an ice cube into Merlin's, because that was how Merlin took his. Arthur liked his straight.

He handed the glass to Merlin and dared him to do it all in one gulp. Merlin did and Arthur poured him another glass. After his third and Merlin's forth, Arthur took the glasses and set them down on the counter. He walked over to Merlin who was sitting on the couch and kissed him deeply. The alcohol was burning brightly in his veins. Desire flashed through Merlin and he felt himself harden. Arthur always had this effect on him. The attraction they shared was powerful and acted very much as a drug. He kissed Arthur deeply, slipping his tongue through Arthur's lips and pushed his fingers through his husband's hair.

Wrapping his arms around Merlin, Arthur drew him up, clutching Merlin to him as he kissed him again. The smell of alcohol mixed with the smell that was simply kissing Merlin. Merlin's lips were like live wires against his. Whenever he kissed Merlin, he felt as if he was drowning and he hadn't known it until Merlin's kiss had come to save him and give him the breath he so desperately needed.

They broke apart for a moment and grinned at each other. Then, Arthur took his husband's hand and led him down the hallway to the bedroom. Merlin only had long enough to notice that it looked a lot like the bedroom on the cabin cruiser they owned in Holyhead. The bed and the other furniture were built in and there was a small bathroom off to the left. The bed had a lime green satin bedspread.

Merlin couldn't think about the room's interior for much longer. Arthur took no time in claiming his lips again and this time, refusing to let them go. Clothes were discarded, they moved to the bed and there they again made love as husband and husband. And afterwards, as Arthur drifted off to sleep, his head on Merlin's chest, Merlin could not help but think that making love had never once been as sweet for him as it was when he was with Arthur. He looked down at his beautiful husband and felt a knot of happiness tighten in his chest. To him, it felt that everything was perfect as if it would never be disturbed. He was here, finally married to Arthur and finally whole. He would be Arthur's consort now, nothing could stop him. His life had come together as he had dreamed it would.

He dozed for a while, finally falling into a peaceful sleep. He only woke when he heard the bathroom door open and found Arthur standing above him with a towel around his waist and one around his shoulders. For a moment, he allowed himself to admire his husband's fine sculpted chest, before sitting up.

"How long was I asleep?" He questioned, rubbing his eyes.

"An hour or so: there's still six and a half hours of the flight left."

Merlin felt a little disconcerted, not knowing where he was and only knowing that he was on a plane going over something… somewhere. He got out of bed and retrieved his clothes from the floor and put them back on. Arthur did the same and spent a good deal of time reaching under the bed in an attempt to find his lost shoe. And so once it was finally found, the pair returned to the sitting cabin. From there, Arthur rang downstairs for their dinner to be brought to them.

Clare came upstairs, holding two bowls of steaming hot vegetable soup. She placed it in front of the two men and with a flurry of movement managed to place napkins in their laps.

"Could I offer either one of Your Royal Highnesses a beverage?" She asked, dipping slightly.

Arthur nodded and requested the Bollinger from earlier. Once she had gone, he and Merlin dug into their soups. Merlin was amazed that food served on an airplane could taste as good as this food did. Often the royal food amazed him with its diversity and deliciousness. Merlin knew how to cook, yes, but he'd never dreamed of anything done to such perfection.

He put down his spoon and looked over at Arthur. "So what's after the soup, Arthur?"

"I know how much you like medium rare sirloin with parsley sauce." He smiled at his husband. "So I arranged to get that… with vegetables on the side, of course."

"You're too good to me." Merlin said in amazement and then he changed the subject. "Now, where are we exactly? I feel rather out of sorts not knowing where I am."

Arthur smiled. "Princess Morgana has bought us a holiday house." He said grandly. "I shan't tell you where, but that is where we are going to stay for the next two weeks."

Merlin was amazed. "She bought us a house?"

"A holiday retreat, she called it… a wedding present."

"Can I see photos of it?"

Arthur pursed his lips.

"Only from the inside," Merlin amended. "I'm not trying to spoil the surprise."

Arthur still looked suspicious. "Okay." He said at last. He stood and went downstairs returning a moment later with a folder. "I didn't go to see it, but Morgana did. Remember that weekend she had away with Edward?"

Merlin nodded. "I take it they were house-hunting?"

Arthur nodded and opened the file. "Here," He said, handing the respective photos to Merlin. "It's a villa-type house. It has five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and a fully refurbished kitchen as well as an outdoor pool and a hot tub. It's got three sixty degree views of where we're going, but of course you'll see that when you get there."

Merlin stared in awe down at the photograph he had been presented with. It showed a very fine marble bathroom, all beautiful dark marble and shiny silver chrome surfaces. Merlin adored the kitchen, which featured brown granite and chrome appliances. Arthur also showed him a photo of the living room and master bedroom. Merlin was exceedingly pleased with the master bedroom, with its large bay windows (which had the curtains drawn) and low down king-sized bed. It was sleek and elegant, while holding onto a sense of modern style and sleekness. The colour scheme ranged from dark brown to cream. Arthur watched Merlin's face happily. He liked showing Merlin all the things which he could give him. He liked Merlin's reaction at their utter and complete wealth.

Merlin handed the shots back to Arthur. "Will you please tell me where we're headed to?" He begged again.

Clare came up with their steaks, giving Arthur time to pause and think. "It's somewhere warm." He said at last. "Now that you'll be spending so much time in England where temperatures rarely succeed twenty degrees I thought it'd be only fair to give you a chance to enjoy the sun."

"So you chose this house?"

"Morgana wanted to buy us a holiday home in the location we decided to go to for our honeymoon so that we could always go back to it. I decided where to go and she chose the house. I think she did a splendid job."

Merlin nodded, amazed. "I'd say she did." He leaned over the table and kissed Arthur suddenly.

"What was that for?" Arthur asked, once they had returned to their steaks.

"For nothing," Merlin replied. I just love you."

They touched down exactly five and a half hours later. It felt like eleven at night to Merlin, but Arthur informed him that it was just gone six o'clock locally. They thanked Clare and the rest of the staff and walked over to the open door of the plane. There, Merlin stopped and stared. They had landed on a short airstrip on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The waves were almost turquoise and the sun was blazing and setting over the water, making some of the waves look like pure liquid gold. He drew in breath and Arthur came to stand by him, wrapping his arm around Merlin's waist.

"We're in the Bahamas, in the north." He explained. "Do you like it?"

"Oh… Arthur." Merlin turned around and kissed his husband. "This is brilliant."

He laughed. "Well, we're not even at the house yet, Merlin…"

"But it's perfect."

Arthur blushed. "Aw, Merlin…"

Merlin kissed his cheek. "I love you, Arthur."

oOo

The first week of their honeymoon passed fast. The days were spent happily lounging by the pool which looked out onto a stunning ocean scene or on the beach itself. They had no staff to wait on them, for Arthur knew that Merlin would prefer to have two weeks in utter tranquillity. Of course there was security, but they patrolled the grounds and stayed in the guest house so they were out of the way.

On their eighth afternoon in the Bahamas, Merlin and Arthur were lounging on the private beach they – much to Merlin's shock – _owned_. Their security guys (Hector and Joshua) stood some thirty metres away scanning the area for any possible threat. Merlin still couldn't get over the unease of being constantly watched—but if it protected Arthur, he knew he could live with it.

He lowered his book – an old western favourite of his – and looked over at Arthur and was surprised to see that the prince had been staring at him, studying him.

"You're so handsome, Merlin." Arthur murmured.

Merlin looked away and blushed. "No I'm not." He said.

"You were number two on the 2007 list of the World's Top Ten Sexiest Men. I think you are and you know it."

Merlin shrugged. "I'm very modest, okay?"

"A fine quality in a consort," Arthur replied, squeezing Merlin's hand.

Merlin grinned back. "You know," He said, leaving back, "I don't think I've ever been as happy as I am right now."

Arthur leaned over and kissed Merlin softly. "I'm glad." He told Merlin, kissing him again. "I'm only up when you're not down, you know."

Merlin blushed.

Arthur looked up at the sky. "It looks like it'll rain soon."

Merlin threw his head back and groaned. "No! I like it here!"

Arthur laughed and reached over, intertwining their hands. "I like you."

Merlin shook his head and laughed. "I guess we'd better head back, if that's the case."

They collected their belongings and headed up to the house, their security following close behind. Once they reached the premises of the house, the security fawned out in order to protect the grounds. Merlin headed for the house, but Arthur pulled on his arm, stopping him. Merlin turned to his husband, a questioning look on his face.

"Let's go in the hot tub."

Merlin raised his eyebrows. "We're covered in sand."

"So what?" Arthur shrugged. "It's our hot tub."

Merlin leaned over and kissed Arthur. "But what if it rains?"

"So what?" Arthur said again. "You're not sugar, are you Merlin? Or maybe you are –because you're so sweet."

Merlin rolled his eyes and headed in the direction of the garden, which held the hot tub. "You're impossible!" He called over his shoulder to Arthur, who only grinned and followed him down around the back of the house and down the small path which led to the clearing of palm trees where the hot tub was.

He climbed up the few steps and slowly lowered himself into the scalding water and Arthur followed, sinking in beside him.

Merlin nuzzled into Arthur's embrace. Arthur wrapped his arm around Merlin and kissed his dark hair. "I love you."

Merlin smiled. "I love you, too." He sighed and rested against Arthur's embrace. "What's on the agenda when we get home?"

"Don't talk about home." Arthur pleaded. "It means I have to start thinking about having to share you."

Merlin laughed. "But I want to know what I'm in for."

"What _we're_ in for – I wouldn't expect you to start taking on royal duties without me for quite a while, love."

"What are we in for, then?" Merlin asked.

"We're attending a charity awards night which my father is hosting." Merlin rolled his eyes and Arthur laughed. "It's part of royal life, Merlin, you'd better get used to it!"

Merlin ignored the sinking of his heart that he always got when he remembered that he would spend the rest of his life on Arthur's right hand. That physics degree he had worked so hard for was useless now. Who would hire the husband of the Prince of Wales to do anything? Merlin resisted the urge to sigh. This was what his life was going to be and he had chosen it. It was too late to back out now.

Arthur was alarmed by Merlin's silence. He squeezed Merlin's shoulder. "Are you all right, Merlin?"

"Yeah…" Merlin smiled up at Arthur. "I just don't like the idea of leaving any more than you do." At that exact moment, three raindrops fell into the tub, Merlin laughed, glad for the natural diversion. "See? I told you it would rain."

Arthur was gazing down at Merlin with a look that never failed to make Merlin feel desire clench in his abdomen. Slowly, Merlin reached up and kissed Arthur. Arthur responded with a kiss of his own. It had begun to rain harder. Merlin reached over Arthur, straddling him and began to kiss him again. Cold rain poured down, making their upper halves very cold, but the scalding water below made them warm. All Merlin knew in the universe was the feeling of hot and cold, the sound of rain and the smell of kissing Arthur.

Merlin moved against Arthur, rubbing his manhood against Arthur's. Arthur let out a groan and kissed Merlin hungrily.

"I love your kissing smell." Merlin told Arthur between kisses.

"My what?" Arthur stopped kissing him and looked at his husband in amusement.

"Your kissing smell. The smell I only smell when I kiss you. It's sweet." Merlin kissed Arthur again. "It's a sweet version of your smell."

Arthur laughed and kissed Merlin, inhaling deeply. "I like yours too, Merlin."

Merlin laughed too, kissing Arthur harder.

oOo

_One week later_

"_Today, Their Royal Highnesses, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Oxford are returning from their honeymoon to an undisclosed location. Although the Duke and Prince chose not to disclose their honeymoon location to the press, they have released that they own a house in their honeymoon location and have allowed reporters to document their return to the United Kingdom."_

The plane landed with a smooth thump. Merlin looked over at Arthur and smiled. "Today is the day our life starts." He announced, squeezing Arthur's hand.

Arthur smiled. "My life started the day I met you."

Merlin blushed. "I know you don't mean all these romantic things, you prat." He said jokingly. Arthur kissed the back of Merlin's hand, kissing every one of his fingertips in turn. The simple action made Merlin's insides quiver with desire.

"I do mean them, Merlin." Arthur said, suddenly serious. "You are the man who set me free and let me who I'm supposed to be."

Merlin took a sip of champagne. "I love you, Arthur." He replied – there was no other answer he could think of. "And I'm glad that I'm spending my life with you."

"For better or for worse…"

"Yes." Merlin smiled. "For better or for worse – you're stuck with me!"

"Excuse me Your Royal Highnesses, we are ready for you to disembark." Todd – another one of their security team members – said, bowing slightly.

Arthur looked over at Merlin and smiled. "Shall we?" He asked, standing up. Merlin nodded and stood up, brushing off his jacket. He was wearing a deep navy suit with a pinstripe blue Oxford shirt underneath. Arthur was wearing a grey suit and white shirt. Arthur turned back to Todd. "Thank you very much." He said, shaking Todd's hand.

Todd nodded. "My pleasure, Your Royal Highness."

Merlin took a deep breath. King Uther and Princess Morgana were going to meet their plane. Merlin had no desire to see King Uther, but of course, he never did. He never mentioned his hatred of his father-in-law to his husband of course, but he was sure that Arthur knew well that Merlin wasn't one to spend time which he didn't have to with Uther.

Several years ago, Uther had beaten Merlin following the pair going public with their relationship. The incident had led to a four year prison sentence for the King which resulted in Arthur being named Prince Regent. King Uther had been released when he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. The treatment however, seemed only to be holding off the inevitable and Arthur had told Merlin the month before that if the next round of treatment did nothing Uther was going to give it up.

Which would eventually result in Arthur being King and Merlin being his consort; but Merlin didn't want to think about that right then. He had a public appearance to ready himself for. He straightened his jacket and took Arthur's outstretched hand. Together, they walked to the opened door of the aircraft.

They had invited reporters to document the event, but Merlin had been unaware of how many reporters would show up. There had to be at least a hundred of them. Flashes went off in every direction. But as he had been taught, Merlin paused next to Arthur, keeping a pleasant smile on his face. After a minute, they started down the steps and paused at the bottom of the steps for more photos. Stanley, their publicity agent stepped forward.

"Their Royal Highnesses will now take questions from the press."

"Prince Arthur," A blonde woman in a red suit stepped forward, "Harriet from CCN – will you tell us where you went for your honeymoon?"

Arthur shared a look with Merlin. "The Bahamas," He said. "An idealistic place for any honeymoon to be honest – I'm rather surprised we didn't get found out. And if it was leaked to anyone, I'd like to thank them for not revealing it to other media outlets and for letting us enjoy our first two weeks as a married couple in peace."

Harriet smiled and nodded and stepped back, scribbling furiously.

"Merlin, did you enjoy your honeymoon?" Another woman wearing a white shirt and brown skirt asked, leaning forward expectantly.

"Very much!" Merlin laughed. "It was such a beautiful location. I couldn't have been happier… Arthur didn't even tell me where we were headed, you see."

"Do you think he chose well?"

"Yes!"

Stanley stepped forward. "Thank you and that will be all. We do not wish to keep the King and Princess Royal waiting."

Merlin felt his stomach twist in nervousness. Oh God. King Uther. He turned with Arthur after waving to the cameras and headed towards the car, where King Uther and Princess Morgana stood waiting. King Uther looked very thin and he wore a wool coat over his frail frame, although the temperature couldn't have been below sixty. Merlin glanced at Arthur, whose face was frozen with his public smile. It would not do to have any reaction to Uther's condition in public.

They reached the pair; both Merlin and Arthur bowed low to Uther and kissed Morgana's hand. Arthur shook his father's hand while Merlin hugged Morgana.

"Thank you for the house, Morgana… it was fantastic."

She glowed. "Really? I mean, Arthur thought you'd like it – I just – I just wasn't sure."

Merlin nodded. "It was brilliant."

After that, Merlin greeted Uther with a handshake and swift nod.

"Did you enjoy your holiday?" Uther asked lamely, feeling the need to be seen at least trying to make conversation with Merlin. He tried to remember the friend of his son who he had approved of, but only came up with the disgusting idea of this man having some sort of… intercourse with his Arthur. Uther thought back a wave of rage. This man had somehow transformed Arthur from the formal, straight son into this… faggot. Uther shuddered inwardly. Maybe when he passed away, Arthur would see. Arthur would see that it was not Merlin with whom he belonged, but with a woman. A woman who could give him heirs and not a man who could never have hope of producing an heir. Anyway, he was in public, he could not afford to show these feelings. He forced a public smile.

"Yes, thank you sir." Merlin offered, with a stiff smile of his own.

Uther grunted and turned and walked to the other side of the car. A chuffer opened it for him and he slid in without another word. The trio looked at each other and laughed.

"I'm sorry," Morgana said quickly (aware of public ear at her shoulder), "He hasn't been so well over the past week."

Arthur nodded, his mouth set in a grim line. "I see." He leaned down and kissed Morgana's cheek. "Thank you for the house, Morgana. It was wonderful."

"Yes well, I suppose you and Merlin are tired after your journey here. I suppose we should be off and let you return home to rest?" Morgana smiled. "I'll call you, Arthur – about father." She lowered her voice. "There are some public duties over the next few weeks I believe we're going to have to take up for him."

Arthur nodded. "I'll call you tomorrow morning."

She hugged him. "Love you, Arthur." She blew a kiss at Merlin, "You too, Merlin!"

And with that, she slid into the car next to her father and they were driving away. Merlin looked at Arthur and they chuckled to each other. "What a warm welcome your father gave me!" He said, as they slid into their own car. Gareth, their driver, began edging forward immediately.

Arthur fixed Merlin with a sharp look. "He's trying, _Mer_lin."

Merlin shrank back. "I was making a joke, Arthur."

Arthur sighed and rubbed his temple. "I'm sorry." He said at last. "I just… he's my dad. He's not a good one, but he's the only one I have. And he's the only parent I have. Seeing him wasting away like this…"

Merlin put his hand over Arthur's. "It'll be okay." He said at last.

"You have to say that."

"Well, I mean it. If it's not okay, it's not the end."

Arthur looked up at Merlin and smiled. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"It's okay." Merlin squeezed Arthur's hand and smiled.

With effort, Arthur pushed his troubling thoughts away and glanced out the window before turning back to his new husband. He squeezed Merlin's hand back and grinned widely at Merlin. Merlin looked perplexed.

"What?"

"So…"

"So?"

Arthur's grin grew impossibly wider. "Welcome to your new royal life, Merlin."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Hey guys!**

Here's another chapter for y'all. :) Hope you enjoy it.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, you guys are the best!

And yes, Merlin's first speech IS based off the Duchess of Cambridge's first public speech. ;)

Cheers, everyone! xx  
- VioletRose136

* * *

Chapter Three

Mordred landed in London exactly one hundred days after the royal wedding.

The flight had been one of the longest of his life – he had tried digging his teeth into a film, but had failed. Luckily, the plane was relatively empty and so he'd had a whole row of seats to himself. Three hours before landing, Mordred popped some sleeping pills and lay down across the other two seats.

It had worked. He hadn't woken until a bright-eyed flight attendant had woken him twenty minutes before landing. Then, he had filled out a landing card and read part of _The Domestic Vampire_ – which was his friend Louise's debut novel, which came out the following month. She had presented him with the Advanced Reader Copy a few days before he had left the United States and asked him for a quote for the cover. He had grudgingly agreed to read it and she had thanked him and gushed about how hard publicity for debut novels was. Mordred had agreed and told her that he'd do anything he could to try and get her novel out there.

The novel was good – Mordred knew it. It was chick-lit mixed with the fun, mysterious world of the supernatural. Louise had hit exactly the right mix of humour and mystery and danger. The novel circled around a housekeeper for a couple of policewomen who found herself stalked down an alley and turned into a vampire and the mishaps and problems which occurred. They landed with a bump and Mordred put the ARC away and happily disembarked and looked around.

He had been to London once before – when he had flown in with Merlin to see Merlin's mother and stepfather. His heart tightened at the memory and he wondered idly how Hunith was doing. Mordred walked through the terminal and took the bus which got them over to the customs hall. Mordred had been one of the luckier passengers who had gotten a 'Fast Pass' through the customs line and so within twenty minutes he was past the boarder and standing with a throng of other passengers waiting for his luggage.

It took another thirty minutes to get a cab. One of Mordred's favourite things about Britain was the London cab drivers. Merlin had told him with some amusement that you had to study for two years to become a London cab driver. You had to know all the ins and outs and be able to calculate several routes to the same destination within seconds. This was different to the New York cab drivers, Mordred noted, who just got the job no matter the level of their competence. Once in a cab, Mordred had asked to go to the Brooklyn Pier and been told by his driver that there _was_ no Brooklyn Pier.

"22 Park Lane, Mayfair," He told the driver, proud to have remembered the address of his hotel. The driver nodded and they pulled away from the curb.

"You're staying at the Hilton?" The driver asked and Mordred nodded. "What brings you to London?" He asked.

"Oh, I'm seeing an old friend." Mordred replied. Well – it was sort of true – if you could count your now royal ex-boyfriend as a friend.

"Been awhile since you last saw him, then?"

Mordred looked out the window with a smile.

"You could say it has been, yes."

A little while later they got to the hotel. It was a great tall building with blue lights running up the sides of it. Mordred paid and thanked the driver and stepped out. It was about two o'clock in London – and in honour of the month (October) the day was characteristically brisk and rainy. Mordred walked in and checked in and was told that his room would not be ready until four. He took it good naturedly and left his bags at the desk and wandered over to the bar, laptop in hand.

The bar was sleek and modern, with olive green and teal leather seats and oak tables all about. Mordred briefly considered sitting and waiting for someone to come to him – but he'd had enough of a day. He wandered over to the bar and asked the man for a double whiskey. Mordred decided to start a tab and wandered over to a booth in the far corner. There, he set down the whiskey and opened up his laptop. He logged in and opened up the document he was working on. Then, he sat back and looked around; spying the few others clustered in the bar around him and without hesitation, downed the entirety of his double whiskey.

And then, he began to write.

oOo

Merlin stared dismally out of the window. One hundred days since he had married Arthur – the 19th of July to the 28th of October. It was the first one hundred days of a union that would stretch for the rest of his life.

The two months after their return had sped by. They had lived for a short while at their St. John's Wood home but at Arthur's insistence had eventually moved to Arthur's apartments at Clarence House. King Uther's condition was slowly worsening and Arthur had felt that it was his duty to assume his place at his official residence for when the Archbishop and the Postmaster General would appear to tell him that his father had died and he was King. Although they still owned the home in St. John's Wood, Merlin had not seen it since the beginning of the month.

Merlin had made his first married official appearance with Arthur at the end of August at the charity awards dinner. He'd made several other appearances with Arthur at various organizations, schools and charities over the past few months. Every time it was the same routine: get out of the car, greet onlookers, greet the head of wherever they were going and then go inside, look around, appear interested and then leave again. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy meeting members of the population and drawing attention to whatever organization they were visiting, but it was awfully repetitive and dull.

It was another two months before he would announce the charities he had decided to be the patron of. Until then, he had no work or reports from any charity to go over, although plenty had sent him packets of information about their work and goals. He spent the days he had free dressed up as a nerd (for he found that no one really looked twice at nerds) going about London with his camera flanked by two security guys.

The camera had been a wedding present from his mother, a brand new expensive Nikon D3100 that he had found he loved. Taking photos helped him remember the city more and sometimes things he saw in his photos interested him into doing further research. He was considering buying a MacBook to help him edit the photos. But of course, he'd have to learn how to edit photos before he could even think about buying a Mac. Maybe he could hire a tutor…

Merlin sighed. He didn't want his photographs sprawled across the pages of a magazine. Because of who he was, everyone would admire them and agree that they were 'fantastic' photos. He wouldn't ever get any criticism and he wouldn't ever improve. He would just be Merlin, the amazing royal photographer.

He moved away from the window – which looked out onto a grey, dismal London day and surveyed the room. A roaring fire crackled in the fireplace. They had had the whole apartment redone three years back. It consisted of seventeen rooms, five of those marking up as bedrooms, three as bathrooms, two as studies, one as a kitchen, one as a gym, one as a game room and one reception room as well as two living rooms.

He was in the cosier of the two living rooms, the one they used for when their friends came over for dinner. It had a plush cream coloured carpet and teal coloured walls. They had decided on two stark brown couches facing each other with a glass table in between. Facing the table, between the couches was the ivory marble fireplace. Against the wall were two study armchairs which were also brown. Across from the fireplace there was a large flat screen T.V. mounted on the wall. _Teal and brown, what a pair_ Merlin thought to himself as he walked over to the couch and flipped on the T.V. he liked this home, but he thought longingly of the sleek home cinema embedded in St. John's Wood.

Arthur was up in Edinburgh with his father for some sort of Scottish celebration. Merlin had been supposed to go, but food poisoning had kept him down in London. In order to keep the public from questioning Merlin's absence at Arthur's side, Stanley had insisted on releasing the following statement:

"_His Royal Highness the Duke of Oxford is saddened that illness has prevented him joining Prince Arthur and King Uther in Scotland this week. However, he gives his best wishes to the organizers of the event and hopes that his husband and father-in-law have a lovely experience."_

The food poisoning had passed by now (it had before Arthur and Uther had even been safely settled in Edinburgh) and Merlin had a few days to spend by himself. They had left on Wednesday, so that they might spend Thursday through Sunday in Scotland. It was about three on a Friday afternoon and Merlin had plans to stay with his mother in Oxfordshire on Saturday and Sunday.

But for the meantime? Merlin was really, really bored.

For a few hours, he watched reruns of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Full House before considering ordering Chinese.

The phone rang suddenly, making him jump. He muted the T.V. and walked over to the table by the door. The caller I.D. said ARTHUR MOBILE. With his heart fluttering in that annoying way it always did when he was faced with talking to Arthur again after any period of separation—Merlin picked up the phone.

"Hey, Arthur."

"Merlin, my father is in the ICU."

"_What?!_"

Arthur's voice was shaky. "He didn't come down for lunch in time, so we went up to see what was keeping him and he… it wasn't pretty."

"What happened?"

"I… I had to clear out his throat with my hand so that he could breathe."

A sick feeling swarmed through Merlin. Oh, how horrible. What a horrible thing to have to do. Merlin's heart ached with sympathy for Arthur and he wished that he could hold him in his arms, comfort him until his husband drifted off to sleep and off to a land where these traumatising things did not happen and all was well.

"Oh, Arthur… I'm so sorry, I—"

"It's fine, Merlin." Arthur interrupted. Merlin didn't bother saying that something as horrific as what had happened could never be fine. "Look, I don't think I can be back in London by Sunday or even Monday. It depends when they get my father stable enough to return down to London, which won't be for at least two weeks."

"Oh." Merlin felt a wave of disappointment flood over him. "Can't you come home in a few days?"

"And leave my father? How would that look?" Arthur's voice was sharper than he intended it to be. "He's my FATHER, Merlin. I'm not going to leave the sick man alone and come down to London."

Merlin felt stung. "What do you need me to do?" He asked finally, breaking a long silence.

"I have a dinner to attend on Monday night and I have to go and visit children's hospice and give a speech on Wednesday. I need you to do both. Oh, and I have a meeting with the Smile Train organization on Monday at two o'clock in the conservatory at Buckingham Palace."

"What's the dinner for?" Merlin asked, looking around for a notepad. He settled for grabbing his mobile and pressing 'record'.

"It's the birthday party for the Duke of Buckingham; he's turning fifty-six."

The Duke of Buckingham was Uther's youngest brother. "A birthday party for your uncle… who should I expect to see there?"

Arthur rattled off a list of names. "And for the meeting on Monday just take notes for me and I'll review them when I get home and call them if I have any questions."

"Make notes during the meeting on Monday." Merlin stopped. "And the hospice is just a standard visit?"

Arthur replied that it was. "Try and come up here tomorrow if you can, Merlin."

"But I'm seeing my moth—"

"Merlin, my father may be _dying_. I need you to come up here now. You can cancel with your mother, she'll understand."

"Arthur, I haven't seen her since the wedding!"

"Merlin – I don't care! You need to come up here tomorrow morning. I'll ensure that a plane is ready at eight o'clock in the morning."

Merlin sighed loudly. "Arthur…" He tried again, but his husband cut him off.

"Eight o'clock tomorrow morning. It shouldn't take too long to fly up to Edinburgh. You'll be here by eleven. I'll meet you at our Holyrood Palace accommodation at twelve in the drawing room."

Arthur rung off then and Merlin in anger hurled the phone across the room where it hit a wall and the back flew off. How dare Arthur? How dare he demand that Merlin suddenly stop all his plans for King Uther? He knew that Merlin had not seen his mother since the wedding. How dare he? Merlin was so mad that he couldn't move for several seconds. Then, ever so slowly, he walked over to the phone, replaced the batteries and the back and returned it to its holder.

He took several deep breaths. This wasn't about Uther, Merlin reminded himself: this was about Arthur. Uther had taken a turn for the worst and it was entirely possible that in a week's time Arthur would be King. Of course Merlin would have to be at his side should be become King. The thought of him not being was entirely ridiculous. Still… Merlin would only be in Edinburgh for two nights at the most. How could that make much of a difference? Sure, it'd make a difference if Arthur became King in the next forty-eight hours, but it wouldn't now.

Merlin realized that he hadn't even asked what was happening to Uther now that they had him at the hospital. He knew now that Arthur wanted him up there for the comfort his presence would offer. He also knew that he had to go. Yes, Arthur had been sharp with him on the phone, but he had just had to go through a horrific happening with his father. Of course Arthur would not be in a mood to compromise. He needed Merlin by his side.

All at once, Merlin knew three distinct things:

First, he was going to go to Edinburgh that night. Second, he was also going to go to Oxfordshire and thirdly, he had to get a move on. He glanced at the clock – two twenty five – if he hurried; he'd be able to get to Oxfordshire by four and on a plane by nine. He decided not to tell Arthur that he was coming up but instead surprise him by showing up in the middle of the night.

He picked up the phone and dialled Hector, who had been promoted to head of their security team.

"Good afternoon, sir." Hector said, after answering on the first ring.

"Good afternoon, I need a plane ready to take me to Edinburgh at nine o'clock tonight."

"I was told by Prince Arthur that you would not be leaving until eight o'clock tomorrow morning, sir."

"Change of plans." Merlin replied briskly. "I'm going up tonight. Don't alert Prince Arthur to this – he's far too busy to be bothered with my travel plans. Can you bring a car around in fifteen minutes? I want to go to Oxfordshire to see my mother."

"Of course, sir – we will be waiting out front."

Merlin thanked Hector and then rang up his mother's Oxford home. "Mother," He said, once she had picked up the phone. "Uther has taken a turn for the worst and I'm going up to Edinburgh to be with Arthur tonight."

"Oh." Merlin could sense his mother's disappointment over the phone. "Well, perhaps I'll see you next weekend, my love?"

"I was actually planning on being at yours in about two hours. Would that be all right? I felt so bad that this all came up that I didn't want to miss out on seeing you, you see."

Merlin could hear his mother's happiness in her reply. "Oh Merlin, you sweet, sweet boy – you don't need to do that!"

Merlin smiled. "I haven't seen you in months and I don't know how crazy things are going to get around here. I'll be down in two hours."

"Oh, Merlin…" Hunith was lost for words. "I'll have dinner ready; I can't have you getting hungry halfway to Scotland!"

oOo

Mordred was faced with one problem: how was he going to get to see Merlin? With most ex's, it'd be easy—just ring up and ask them if they wanted to hang out. Or figure out where they worked and show up there and pretend to be surprised. (Mordred had to admit that last option sounded a little stalker-like and he shrank away from it.) But Merlin was an HRH. If Mordred had learned anything about royal security when he had been with Merlin, it was the level of security that surrounded the royals. Official calls had to go through the office of their particular residence and then up to their personal assistant's before the call would be deemed appropriate and headed off to their work lines (which was an entirely different number to their personal lines, which was a number that the royal themselves could give off to some individuals). The chances that a call from an ex-boyfriend would even be deemed appropriate were small, so Mordred decided that calling was out.

Merlin rarely checked his e-mail, Mordred knew and so by the time it was checked, chances were that Mordred would be safely home in New York. Goddamn. It was almost like Merlin was subconsciously trying to keep Mordred away, unless…

Mordred's head snapped up to the T.V. – he had turned it onto a news channel as soon as he had gotten up to his room a quarter of an hour before – on the screen was, to Mordred's disbelief, Merlin and Arthur. It was a short clip, which according to the date on the bottom had been taken a week before when the pair had visited the National Portrait Gallery. He grabbed for the remote and turned on the sound.

The reporter was a slim woman with shoulder length chestnut brown hair. "…At noon today King Uther took a turn for the worst and was rushed to a nearby Scottish hospital. This has led to the cancellation of events which the King and Prince were supposed to attend this weekend. There has been no word from any of the London palaces about the event, but the Duke of Oxford is expected to join his husband in Scotland over the weekend. It has been announced that the Duke of Oxford will be overtaking all of his husband's engagements while the heir to the throne stays up in Scotland with his father. Along with several meetings, the Prince of Wales had a visit to the local children's hospice of Berkshire scheduled on Tuesday which the Duke of Oxford is undertaking. This will be the Duke's first public appearance without his husband."

Mordred shut off the T.V. – a public appearance! Of course! Plenty of people always waited outside the buildings to catch a glimpse of the royals. Mordred would just have to be one of them. And he would have to be at the front. Merlin would have to see him, of course. Then he'd hand Merlin a number to call. Yes! That would be it. Maybe Merlin would call or text or maybe he wouldn't. But at least Mordred would have tried.

He opened his laptop and began to arrange transport and lodgings.

It looked like he was taking a surprise trip to Berkshire.

oOo

Merlin got to Holyrood right after midnight.

His visit with Hunith had been brief – only two and a half hours – but Merlin could tell that it had meant so much that he had put her above his royal duties. Hunith was about five months pregnant at this point and Merlin had happily assisted her finish off dinner while she rested her feet and watched Coronation Street. She told Merlin that she and Adam had found out the previous week that they were having a girl. They were going to name her Aurora. Merlin was genuinely happy for his mother and stepfather and hoped that poor Aurora would be left alone by the press even though she had very royal connections.

Merlin liked the little old palace. He had always loved Scotland before he and Arthur were married and had found much to his dismay that he had not spent the kind of time he wanted to up in Scotland for a long time. He wished he could have returned to the beautiful country under happier circumstances, but at least he was back again. Scotland, being much colder than England was vicious at the end of October. Merlin pulled his coat tightly around him as he walked from the car into the drafty hall.

The palace was lighted only by emergency lights which stayed on at night and came on during fire drills so the whole place had an unattractive florescent glow. Guards on duty bowed to Merlin as he passed them. He walked past the public rooms and took a hallway across to the residential wing.

The residential wing looked over on the gardens and had a series of suites for royals to use while they stayed there. (Holyrood had never been intended as a permanent residence, the royal family was English, after all.) The one Arthur and Merlin always used was a corner suite on the second floor, consisting of five and a half rooms – two bedrooms, a reception room, a living room, a bathroom and a kitchenette serving as the 'half' room. It was a quaint little place, but both men were insanely fond of it.

Merlin used his key and entered the suite quietly. The reception room was square with windows on one side looking out onto the gardens and the abbey ruins and was a bright coral colour. The two doors on the left led to the living room/kitchenette (they were alternative entrances) and the other two doors led to the master suite and spare bedroom. The lights in the reception room were dim but there was a light coming under the closed door leading to the living room. Merlin crept into the master bedroom and left his bags just inside the door. Then he took off his coat and left it on the coat hanger in the reception room and slowly opened the door to the living room.

The living room was big with an open floor plan. It had a modern stone fireplace and hearth at one end with a wooden floor stretching from one end of the large room to the kitchenette, where it turned once more into stone. There was a counter space cutting the kitchenette off from the rest of the room. There was a rug on which sat a blue couch and two blue armchairs. On either side of the hearth were bookshelves made of stone.

There was a crackling fire and in one of the blue armchairs, was Arthur. Merlin stopped in the doorway and watched the prince. He was clearly asleep, a book cracked open and rested on his thigh and his head rested on the back of the chair. He wore a pair of worn light blue jeans with fraying cuffs and a black v-neck jumper with a white t-shirt underneath. On his feet were wool socks which Merlin had provided last year after Arthur had complained about his freezing feet. Arthur's reading glasses had been hung on the collar of his jumper. They were round tortoise shell glasses which had the effect of making Arthur look like Harry Potter.

Merlin crept over and knelt in front of Arthur and shook him gently. "Arthur," He murmured, "Arthur it's me."

Arthur stirred, his eyes slowly opening. "Merlin," He mumbled, "You're here."

"Of course I'm here," Merlin spoke softly, "I wasn't going to leave you to be here all alone after the day you've had."

Arthur became fully awake in moments and with a whimper leaned forward, resting his head on Merlin's shoulder. Merlin's arms came up and wrapped around Arthur's broad, sturdy shoulders. He wrapped his arms awkwardly around Merlin's slighter frame and wept quietly.

"Oh Merlin," He whispered, hugging him tighter. "I thought you wouldn't come."

"Don't be silly – of course I'd come." Merlin murmured.

"I'm sorry I was snappish earlier… I'd just left the hospital and… oh God." He buried his head in Merlin's shoulder again. Merlin stroked his hair and made comforting noises.

"Arthur of course I'd come and be with you." He said, now rubbing Arthur's back. "You'd just gone through a horrific experience. I wasn't going to leave you on your own any more than I had to."

"I love you Merlin." Arthur leaned back and wiped his eyes and forced a watery smile.

Merlin hugged Arthur close again and then kissed him. "Come on, let's get to bed. It is rather late."

"What time is it?" Arthur sat back, rubbing his eyes.

"Oh, about twelve thirty," Merlin shrugged.

Arthur nodded. "Thank you for coming up, Merlin." He said sincerely.

"Of course," Merlin replied, standing up and pulling Arthur to his feet beside him. "I'm your husband Arthur – I'm supposed to be here for you, through thick and thin."

oOo

_Through thick and thin, _Merlin thought to himself, _thick and thin indeed_.

It was Tuesday and he was headed off to his first official public appearance. Officially, his first solo royal engagement had occurred the night before at the dinner party he had gone to. But then, that could be considered a family thing since it had been Arthur's uncle's birthday dinner and ball. Merlin hadn't returned from that until well past midnight – as the husband of the heir to the throne, Merlin found himself as rather a popular target for lesser party guests and aristocracy –all of whom wanted Merlin to attend this or comment on that or Lord knows what. Merlin had finished off his forth champagne around one and all the conversations after that seemed a bit fuzzy.

It was nine o'clock and with less than five hours of sleep, Merlin was sitting in the back of the black Jaguar which was his and Arthur's personal car being driven to Berkshire's Children's Hospice. He was on his second Red Bull and hoped that he'd be able to appear attentive and interested and not too hyper or hung over throughout his visit. For the visit, he wore a charcoal coloured suit with a black Oxford shirt and silvery grey tie. He felt grateful that unlike Morgana – who had never been known to wear a dress twice – that he had very few variations on what he could wear to appearances.

Merlin wished that Arthur was with him, he wished that he had known a month before that this would be his first appearance alone. And most of all, he wished that he had not had quite as many drinks last night. He knew that he had not embarrassed himself, but still, his head hurt.

"Sir, we'll be arriving shortly." Darrin, Merlin's close bodyguard told him over the intercom from the front. (There was a screen between the front and the back of the car.)

"All right," Merlin called back and quickly read over his notes again.

They arrived fifteen minutes later and as expected, there was a crowd of people ready to greet him. Darrin came around and opened Merlin's door and Merlin got out in one practiced graceful move. The cheer of the crowd went up. Merlin smiled in spite of himself and waved. The car behind him drove off, but he ignored it. Darrin stayed close beside Merlin, while Vincent kept a twenty foot distance.

For a few minutes, all Merlin did was shake hands and take photos with the crowd. One asked for an autograph but Merlin shook his head and apologised and said he couldn't give it – Merlin's signature would one day take its place on famous papers, the last thing the palace needed was someone impersonating Merlin's signature.

He took flowers from those who decided to give them – he had taken three bouquets and had handed them all off to Stanley when he saw him.

At first, he wasn't sure he had seen right – lots of people had dark, shaggy hair. Then, his name was called and the man forced his way to the front of the railing. There was no doubting it; it was Mordred Boncroft, his ex-boyfriend. He was about four feet away from Merlin holding out an envelope. Merlin took a deep breath, he could do this – he was a married man now. A simple conversation with someone who he had once been in the throes of passion with could and would mean nothing. He looked around to make sure no one else had realized any significance in Mordred's presence – they hadn't. Following their break up, Merlin had been pleased to find that the media's interest in Mordred was fairly minimal. He had been mentioned in a documentary here and there by first name as the 'interval man' but hardly any documentaries supplied a photo or a last name.

The chances that Mordred would seem at all out of the ordinary were tiny, Merlin reminded himself. Two people had already given Merlin letters and he had gotten many more on other visits – mostly consisting of suggestions for how to steal the crown from the Pendragon's and well-wishers for his marriage. Merlin still went slowly, greeting the three people in the four feet that separated them before coming to Mordred. For a moment, they stood face to face staring at each other. Merlin felt a chill creep up his spine – it was like seeing a ghost. The last time he had seen Merlin was back in 2006 – two years before – when he had told him that he was leaving and had been kicked out of the house. Mordred had looked so broken, so… lost when he had left the house they had lived in together.

Now, Mordred looked healthy, hair shorter than when Merlin had been with him and his features were drifting firmly into those of a man. Of course, Mordred was twenty two now – he would have finished university six months ago and gone out into the world. Likely, he was still an author but Merlin didn't know. For the sake of the royal family and his own reputation, Merlin kept well away from Mordred's books when browsing in bookstores in London.

"Your Royal Highness," Merlin couldn't tell whether or not Mordred's words dripped in sarcasm, it was the shock which hindered his ability to define his tone. Mordred held out his letter and Merlin noticed that his ex-boyfriend's hand was shaking. "I hope you will find time to read this, sir." Mordred said, his icy eyes meeting Merlin's with an unreadable message in them.

Merlin took the letter; it was smooth, fine paper. "Thank you," He said and then, to make it appear like a normal exchange, he added, "I hope you haven't been waiting for me long."

"No sir," Mordred smiled and Merlin was glad he was playing along. "I'm staying in London you see and I found out that you were going to be here and I just couldn't pass up the chance of seeing a _royal_. We Americans don't have a royal family you know, you're the closest thing we've got."

Merlin cracked a smile. "Well, I hope you enjoy your visit."

Darrin touched Merlin's arm, indicating that it was time to go inside. He folded Mordred's letter and put it inside his jacket pocket. Merlin turned and waved to the crowd and then headed inside the warm building. There, he met the director of the hospice and the other important chair members. He shook their hands warmly and spoke about how much Arthur wished he could have come.

Merlin walked behind the director into a small hall. In the hall, were the families and friends of the people who were treated at the hospice who he would be meeting after the speech which was meant to be Arthur's but was now his because Arthur was otherwise occupied. Merlin had written the speech on the plane back from Edinburgh on Sunday afternoon and had modified it to make it HIS speech and his words. Although he was not the patron of this charity, Merlin wanted to ensure that it was known that he cared just as much as Arthur did about its work.

The director – a woman in her late fifties wearing a green wrap dress and black heels walked onto the small platform in front of the group of people. She tapped the microphone, which gave a dreadful feedback and smiled happily at the group of fifty or so people who had assembled there. Merlin scanned the rows, grateful when he saw that Mordred had not snuck in behind anyone and that the hall was gratefully, ex-boyfriend free.

"Good morning!" The director said brightly, "And thanks you so much for coming here today to greet our royal visitor. As you know, this charity is very close to the hearts of the royal family and we are only too happy to welcome the Duke of Oxford today." She looked at Merlin and smiled. "I believe the Duke has some words he would like to say on behalf of himself and his husband, who sadly cannot be with us today. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce His Royal Highness, the Duke of Oxford."

All thoughts of Mordred were driven from Merlin's head as he walked the five steps to the platform as the audience clapped. The director had already removed herself from the platform and taken a seat at the front row and looked at Merlin expectantly. Merlin smiled at the group who had assembles and looked down at the paper which had been left on the stand in front of him. He read the first line quickly and then looked up and smiled at the crowd.

"Good morning," He said, "And let me first of all, say thank you to all of you. Thank you for first of all, inventing me here today to meet you all and thank you on the behalf of my husband for accepting him as your patron. From what I have experienced in the short time and from what I have learned from Prince Arthur, this place is an incredibly welcoming home to many and I feel hugely honoured to be here today to see and become – if only for a short while – part of this wonderful centre. I am only sorry that Arthur can't be here today, he loves it here.

"A view that we share is that through teamwork, much can be achieved. And what I see achieved here is incredible, a warm home for so many families, where everyone makes every effort to help and support each other. Far from being a depressing place for sick children, this place is lively and bright and fills so many with courage. It is a fun environment for children to live in. A home away from home where families can spend what is a very precious time. It is inspirational what is done here, not just in this particular centre but with the entire group of children's hospices up and down this country. The feelings that are inspired here allow children to feel love and hope and to live a life which they never thought possible to live.

"I feel enormously privileged to be here today and for a moment to be a part of the wonderful, life changing work that you do. Thank you."

After that, the director said a few words and then Merlin was taken into the mess hall, where arts and crafts had been set up. Merlin took the seat he was offered at the middle of the table and listened to the 'arts teacher' while she explained what they were going to do – which was make their own special get well cards for King Uther because he was 'very ill'. (Merlin had already agreed to have the cards picked up the next day by his personal assistant to give to the King. Whether or not the King would actually look at them was another matter entirely, but Merlin of course, didn't say this to the director.)

Merlin started in on his own 'get well' card, drawing a few stick figures and making a childlike pointy crown. He of course, spoke to the children around him as he did this, asking them what they liked most and what their friends at the hospice were like. The girl on his left was named Rachel twelve with dark hair and serious eyes and the boy on his left was named Joe and he was nine and was a massive fan of Bob the Builder.

A little girl named Charlotte got down off her chair and butted in between Joe and Merlin. She smiled widely at Merlin. "I've never met a prince before!"

Merlin refrained from explaining that he wasn't actually a prince and unlike a female marrying into the royal family he shared no titles with his husband. He just smiled and said, "And I've never met you before, who are you?"

oOo

Merlin spent the next four hours in the children's hospice, looking at facilities, meeting with patients and talking to employees about their work and dedication to the charity. Merlin bid the patients goodbye and was walked to the reception by the director. He shook her hand and spoke warmly and positively about the place he had visited and then once she had left, asked Darrin and Vincent to wait while he dipped into a restroom.

Once in the stall, Merlin tore the envelope which seemed to be burning a hole in his jacket and shirt from his pocket and ripped it open.

_Merlin, _

_I don't know if you want to see me, but if you do, I'm staying at the Hilton Hotel in Mayfair. My mobile is 555 3392 – I hope you'll call so we can meet for a drink. _

_I miss you. _

_M x _

_I MISS YOU?! _Merlin was shocked. He and Mordred… they were over. He had made the decision to be with Arthur two years ago and intended to see it through. He HAD seen it through, Merlin reminded himself. He was married to the Prince of Wales, for crying out loud! Merlin crumpled up the paper, suddenly decisive not to call or see Mordred. He had made his choice. He wasn't going to risk seeing an old flame.

But… why shouldn't he risk it? He knew how to go out in public and not be seen, he did it often enough. If he was careful, there was no reason that the media should pick up on it. Before he could think about it further, Merlin opened the stall door and headed out of the bathroom.

Darrin smiled, oblivious to Merlin's inner turmoil and bowed slightly at his approach and they headed out the back towards the Jaguar. His mind was spinning and he was only looking forward to getting in the back of the car an—

"Hi, Merlin,"

"Arthur?!"

The Prince of Wales smiled from the inside of the Jaguar. "I got back to London at nine – my father's getting moved to the King Edward VII Hospital – and decided to come down and meet you after your first solo engagement. So, how'd it go?"

Merlin slid into the backseat, desperately trying to think of an appropriate answer.


End file.
